About 200 horses have been seized from a Houston-area ranch after authorities determined the animals appeared to be starving.
Montgomery County law officers carried out search warrants Wednesday at a ranch near Conroe. A judge granted custody of the horses to the county, with assistance from the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The investigation began when an emaciated colt recently died at a veterinary clinic. The horse was transported by an animal rescue volunteer.
Ranch owners Herman Hoffman and Kathleen Hoffman were cited Wednesday with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to livestock.
Herman Hoffman says he did everything he could to provide feed for the animals and blamed his staff.
One worker, Sarah Connor, said the owners wouldn't pay for enough feed so she bought it herself.
